"Generations Nourishing Generations": the 40th Anniversary of National Ag Day is March 19th!

Agriculture is one of this nation’s most precious resources, and on March 19th  we celebrate that as part of the 40th Annual National Ag Day in the United States – a time for our nation to stop and appreciate the contributions farmers and ranchers make to our lives.  Farming and ranching are difficult, risk-filled occupations, but the hard work and dedication of agriculture workers provides abundantly for our country.  Thanks to our strong agricultural economy, the US has the safest and cheapest food supply in the world. We at the Patz Corporation invite you to join us in honoring and thanking our nation’s farmers and ranchers for everything they provide.  

Learn more about why American Agriculture is amazing with the winner of this year’s National Ag Day Video Contest. Take a minute to enjoy and share it with a friend!

Some facts about American agriculture….

• 96% of U.S. farms are family-owned. The number of non-family corporate farms—and percentage of sales from those farms—has remained virtually unchanged since 1978. 
• American agriculture exported $136 billion in farm goods with a $37 billion trade surplus in 2011. Agricultural exports alone generated 1.4 million full-time jobs and created $486 billion in domestic economic activity in 2011 - it's one of the only U.S. business sectors that actually boasts a trade surplus. 
• U.S. farms and ranches spent $329 billion to produce $388 billion in goods in 2012.
• Americans spend 9.5% of their disposable income on food, lower than any other country.
• Because of advancements in seed and production applications, today's farmers use 40% less fertilizer to grow a bushel of corn than they did 40 years ago. In just the last 30 years, corn farmers have cut the energy they use to grow a bushel by 37%,reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30%—all while increasing production output!
• U.S. farmers have greatly increased output even as land use and other physical inputs have declined. From 1987-2007 farmers grew 40% more corn, 30% more soybeans, and 19% more wheat, all on the same amount of land. From 1980 to 2004, each farmer's output more than doubled! 

Thoughtful quotes about agriculture…

“Agriculture…is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.” – President Thomas Jefferson

“The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” – President John F. Kennedy

“In no other country do so few people produce so much food, to feed so many, at such reasonable prices.” – President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sources: “Family-Owned Businesses are Still the Face of Farming,”retrieved from The Hand That Feeds U.S. on March 13, 2013.

“Feeding the World in a Responsible Way,” retrieved from The Hand That Feeds U.S. on March 13, 2013.

“Real Facts,” retrieved from Farm Policy Facts on March 13, 2013.